Starlight
by Cosmic Hostility
Summary: Troy Bolton. Hot sexy dude, handsome, popular, and every girls dream. Ryan Evans. Drama king/geek, and only popular if you squint really hard. Who knew they were actually meant for eachother? I certainly didn't. Slash, Tryan, dedicated to Tertiary Genesis
1. Prologue: The Meaning of Rain

Hello! This is Cosmo! Do you copy? Okay, good. Now, moving on. This fic is a request from a close friend called Tertiary Genesis, an excellent Tryan writer. If you can, I would suggest that you read his awesome fics. They are bloody amazing! Anyway, so this was a request, and hopefully he'll like it. By the way, this is a prologue, If you haven't figured that out yet so it is remarkably short. Do not despair, the next chapters will be longer. So, here we go!

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**Rating:** PG It's the prologue for god's sake!

**Disclaimer:** Okay, if I happened to own High School Musical, I would so grab Zac Efron and start making out with him in a closet. But, sadly, I am writing this for you. See where I spend my time?

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Troy Bolton put his head down against the windowsill, sighing as the rain gently pattered against the clear glass, dripping down like clear teardrops of molasses. He traced one with his finger, following it's path as it joined with its brothers, slowly gave into the force of gravity and dropped out of sight. Troy loved the rain, loved how it always there to talk to. Now look, he was talking about talking to rain. How weird.. He always had loved to feel the water falling upon him, washing him, dripping down the nape of his neck. He felt as if it cleansed him, as if it was a holy, pure substance that washed away every spot of grime on his soul, every sin that he had done. Troy wasn't a religious guy, he never had time, nor the commitment, to be one. But he felt clean when he walked in the rain.

Turning away from the window, he slowly made his way down to his truck, where threw his school bag in the passenger seat and started the obnoxiously loud engine. Turning the windshield wipers on, he pulled out of his driveway, and headed for school.

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On the other side of town, Ryan Evans sighed again as he looked out the window into the raging downpour. _Great, a joyous sign of an excellent day,_ he thought to himself sarcastically. Don't get him wrong, he didn't mind the rain itself, it was just every day when it rained, it was a defining signal of a horrible day. Ryan didn't know if the rain brought the moods for the football jocks to suddenly start treating him like crap, or if it was just coincidence, but normally it happened like this. Oh, he hated rainy Mondays. The only thing that was positive was that he had the basketball team on his side. But, normally they were doing something else and weren't around to help. He could fake sick, but what was the use? The basketball team would hold the grudge over a single day and bring it down twice as hard tomorrow. Oh, he hated rainy Mondays.

Groaning inwardly, Ryan made his way down the stairs in their grand mansion, entering the atrium that resembled the Austrian one in _The Sound of Music_ way too much. He slowly made his way to the door, biding his time until Sharpay appeared to take control of him once again. He didn't mind her constant reign, but after the freedom he had experienced the previous summer, he was wondering about whether or not he _should_ regain control of his life. Then again, that was a matter for another time, seeing that said sister had entered the atrium, ready for battle.

"Ready, Ryan?" she asked shortly.

Ryan nodded in response, and grabbing an umbrella to hold for his sister, he ran out into the pounding rain toward the pink convertible.


	2. Chapter 1:Rainy Days and Beautiful Faces

Hey you guys, the beloved Cosmo here. Well, sorry about the typo's about when I first posted this chapter, but my computer went haywire, and I was rushed by my annoying parents, and wasn't able to edit it in time. So, finally, I got around to fixing up the loose ends, so, now to all of my faithful fans, here is chapter 2. Also, a special thanks to Tertiary Genesis. Although your reviews are really longwinded, they are really helpful. If only everyone, including myself, could review as well as you...

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**Rating: **E, for like, EVERYONE, you know?? Lol, just kidding!

**Disclaimer:** Gee, I am sooooooo not rich...if only I were. Cuz, that would be, like amazing, and I'd get to know Zac Efron...who, if you didn't know, happens to be utterly GORGEOUS!!

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Troy Bolton hung his head, his eyes drooping dangerously as he dragged his feet to Ms. Darbus' homeroom, barely holding onto his books that dangled from a sleepy hand. He trudged into the room, the eccentric drama teacher giving him a disapproving glance as she wrote in her usual indefinable loopy handwriting on the blackboard. Troy lifted his books up onto his desk, making a loud bang as said books slammed onto the hard surface. He sat down heavily, hating Mondays with a passion as he did so.

Glancing around the room, Troy caught glimpses of his fellow classmates, jocks and nerds alike. He saw Sharpay, foolishly fixing her makeup _again,_ Ryan, who just gazed off into space, probably humming some show tune under his breath, Chad, who kept bouncing a basketball off the nerd's head in front of him, and Taylor and Gabriella, who were heatedly discussing some freakish math equation. Then there was that skater whose name Troy had no idea, who was discussing how to pull off some half-brained stunt on a skateboard, and the group of math geeks (He thought one of there names was Fred or something) who all had there books out and were probably cramming for a pop quiz that they thought Mr. Gablonski would give them fifth period today.

Troy sighed heavily. He loved school life, how everyone supposedly knew every one else, and life was dictated not by the clock, but by the bell. He loved how everyone had their own niche in life, where they fit in perfectly, like pieces to a massive puzzle of East High. He had taken last year as interesting, when he had initially messed up all of life, thrown a monkey wrench in the master plan of East High. He had auditioned for a school musical.

The whole school had gone haywire, with tension buzzing high between clubs and sports teams, and lunchtime fights were common in everyday life. Chad had blown a gasket when he had heard, his face hardly coming out of a frown until the musical was over. Troy now saw what havoc and discord he had caused his junior year, now that the clubs were separating again, reverting back to the time when Troy Bolton was just a player of basketball, not a singer of musicals.

The bell finally rang, marking the end of homeroom, and the class bustled out of the door, leaving a very disgruntled Darbus in the doorway.

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For Ryan Evans, the day went by slowly, taking his life at a painstaking crawl. English first period he almost fell asleep rereading a part from Richard III, then in Calculus he was swamped with more and more useless equations for triangles and circles, and in gym he was hit in the head one too many times with a small rubber demon. Finally, lunch came, this time without the singing skaters and the break dancing math geeks, and Sharpay had to keep him from landing his face in the tapioca pudding that they were serving today. But, the bell finally ended the bliss of freedom, and Ryan made his way groggily to his senior study hall, where he gracefully tried to sleep, but failed due to an annoying overseer. Then drama came, and even Ms. Darbus could tell that his heart wasn't in the performance. She gave a sympathetic look at him, and then continued on with the demonstration.

How Ryan could have let his exhaustion carry over into his drama career, he didn't know. Normally, singing, dancing, and acting all at the same time was his passion, and he poured as much of his heart into it as he could. But today, today it seemed as if he had nothing in his heart to pour into his love, his future career.

Finally, the bell rang, freeing Ryan from his troubling thoughts. The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and soon Ryan was in the front seat of Sharpay's eyesore pink convertible, they were headed home.

Ryan glanced out the passenger side window, the top up to shield them from the down pouring rain, as they happened to be passing a certain Bolton residence. He glanced over as Troy looked out from the shelter of his garage, a run down pickup next to him. Recognizing the drama king, Troy smiled and gave a whole hearted wave, and Ryan was entranced. As he gave a hesitant return grin, Ryan was completely dumbfounded as to how the basketball jock had acquired such an astonishing smile. What had made Ryan so lost in his gaze, what chemical reaction rendered this acting genius completely and utterly helpless? Ryan looked forward again after almost breaking his neck trying to stare back at the jock. Sharpay gave him a troubled look, one unnoticed by Ryan, and continued to drive, until they arrived at there elegant mansion that was home.

That night, Ryan lay awake in his bead, his bare chest beaded with sweat as he tossed and turned, trying to figure out what had happened in the fleeting instant when drama geek and basketball jock's eyes met. Unable to get to sleep, he slowly got to his feet, cursing the sun that rose all to early.

A/N: Did you like? The next chapter will be longer, so don't worry, but I was advised to take it slow by my extremely long reviewer, so that's exactly what I intend to do. Well, you read, so now REVIEW!! Lol, sometimes I crack myself up. K, signing off now before I like, blow something up...Wow, I wouldn't expect anything less from someone like me...


	3. Chapter 2: Discovery

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I hereby dedicate this chapter to Tertiary Genesis, who has been so helpful. Sorry this has taken so long. And the worst thing is it's the shortest chappy yet. SORRY!

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Disclaimer: Zac Efron...can I hear an AWESOMELY HAWT DUDE!...yeah, you can so tell I don't own.

Rating: K (Still going slow!)

Troy looked up at the shaded through his maroon curtains that were draped across the windows lazily. Oh, mornings were so cruel, the worst time, when you crawled out of the clinging fog that was your consciousness that seemed to linger and hang in the deepest corners of your mind like old coats among your memories.

But as Troy looked out his window again, this time his senses a little more aware, he picked up a delightful sound: the symphony of rain.

His short-lived friends had returned, their torrent from the sky giving Troy a rush of happiness. Smiling to himself, he slowly made his way downstairs, throwing on a shirt as he went. He hopped in his rundown truck, and headed off to the dark monolith that was East High, with a rather brighter attitude than the weather.

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Entering homeroom, Troy once again surveyed the ever familiar scene before him. But something was off, and Troy could feel it as his eyes swept over the skaters and the math geeks. When he looked over at where the drama presidents were supposed to be, he came to realize the emptiness. Yeah, the overly annoying Sharpay was there, along with her equally annoying group of drama cohorts, but her twin was missing. Ryan almost never missed a day of school, and his shining, laughing blue eyes always seemed to be staring at him during almost all of his classes. Troy almost felt lonely now. Those eyes weren't there to keep company, they weren't there to be something that he could look into and not be judged.

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For Ryan, the day went slow. He lounged around the house after he woke up three hours late. He had lost an entire night of sleep, all over some pompous basketball star. And not even because they had interacted greatly. They just looked at each other. For like, two seconds. Yet, when they looked into each other's eyes for that brief second, something had happened. Something had clicked inside Ryan, as if a missing gear from his internal machinery had been found and replaced. But why was that gear missing in the first place? What had gone amiss in Ryan's life? Or was it something that he had never had? Well, that wasn't much. His family was filthy rich, so Ryan got everything he wanted, really. He had a complete room for his entertainment, outfitted with a huge plasma screen television, Wii, Xbox 360, and he was even equipped with the new Playstation 3. In other words, he led a pretty good life. But there was something that he was missing…something that evaded him like a cat chasing its own tail. What was missing?

Finally, Sharpay arrived home in her hot pink convertible, and waltzed in the door with her usual attitude: "I'm better than you and you know it." But when she walked in and saw Ryan still in his pajamas, with his hair sticking up like a rooster heralding a new morn, and those disgusting bags under his eyes, she switched immediately to mother mode.

"Ryan!? What have you been doing all day?" she asked. Strolling over to him, more like striding, she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the living room.

"What does it look like?" he retorted in a sleepy tone. "Nothing."

Sharpay had dragged him to the couch and was feeling his forehead. "How much sleep did you get last night?" she asked, moving to examine his eye.

"About three hours," Ryan replied.

Sharpay stopped. "What were you doing last night?" she practically screeched.

"Couldn't sleep," Ryan said simply, and shrugged.

Sharpay looked at him curiously. "Who is it this time?" she asked.

"Psh, like I'm going to tell you!" Ryan retorted with a snort.

"Oh come on Ryan! Do I have to guess? You know I always guess right!" Sharpay said, giggling.

"But do you know that I always tell the truth?" he said with a sly grin.

Sharpay pushed him playfully. "Fine, I'll guess…Let's see…Zeke?" Ryan shook his head. "Jason?" Ryan shook his head again. "It's not Chad, is it?"

Ryan's expression turned into one of utter horror. "Eww!" he said in a disgusted tone. "He's with Taylor!"

Sharpay's face twisted into a fiendish smile. "I know who it is," she said in a devious voice. Getting up so suddenly Ryan almost fell off the couch, she ran upstairs laughing like a maniac.

Ryan blinked for a moment in his awkward position on the floor, then sprung up and chased after his sister. "Who do you think it is?" he yelled after her as he followed up the stairs. "Can I at least tell you you're wrong?"

Sharpay stopped at her door and looked at him playfully. "But I'm not wrong. You're in love with Troy Bolton."

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O.o What happened? Even I didn't see that coming!


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